Year of the Peacock
by Strange Dandy
Summary: IT'S BACK! When Lord Shen awakens in a down-trodden village, he will begin a journey that will change the course of history. Before you can change the world,however, you must change yourself.
1. Chapter 1

"You gotta let go of that stuff from the past, Shen. It just doesn't matter!" Po pleaded with Shen on the ruins of Shen's capital ship. Ropes suspended a large cannon above them. Every few seconds, the cannon would creak and sink a little lower but neither of them truly cared.

Po was desperately trying to get Shen to understand but it proved to be in vain. "What does matter is who you choose to be right now."

"You know, you're right," said the disgraced peacock in agreement.

"And I choose this!" Shen lunged at Po and swung his feather blades at him wildly. Po was able to dodge and duck the blades for a short time but eventually one of them grazed Po's forehead and he staggered back. Shen, emboldened by this small victory, retrieved his spear and went in for the kill. Shen swung his spear with a furiocity not even the soothsayer could have predicted. There was no skill or method; there was only anger and insanity. Po backed towards the stern of the junk, as there was no conceivable way to approach the whirlwind of feathers and steel that spun him. Shen launched himself in the air to execute a particularly strong overhead attack. Po used this opportunity to make a break for the Bow. Shen swung his blade but only caught empty air. As he turned to pursue his opponent, Shen heard a loud, metallic screech. He looked up and saw his cannon falling towards the deck. Shen, at this point, was very tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of scheming. Tired of trying to escape his destiny. All Shen wanted to do now was rest. He looked up at the rapidly falling cannon and closed his eyes, accepting his pre-determined fate. The cannon fell on the deck and caused an explosion that scattered debris everywhere. Po returned to the wreckage and searched for Shen, but was unable to find him.

"Shen!" Po called out as he sifted through the wreckage. Po still believed that the Peacock lord could be saved, both spiritually and physically. He thought someone was yelling and looked over to see Tigress on the docks, waving her arms and yelling something, but he couldn't quite hear it.

"Po...the…hip…bout…ode…forg…Shen...and...out!"

"What?"

Tigress pointed at the wreckage of Shen's ship and repeated her message.

"Po! The ship is about to explode! Forget Shen and get out of the water!"

Po turned his gaze towards the wreckage. The gunpowder was lit and the clock was ticking. Po swam as fast as he could towards the docks, looking back for a split-second at the barrels. As Po was climbing the ladder, the barrels exploded, but they did not release shrapnel; it turns out that the barrels were used to store fireworks. The Furious Five let out a sigh of relief gave Po a big group hug when he reached dry land. The citizens of Gongmen city had their own reason to rejoice, for they were freed from the tyranny of Lord Shen. All were treated to a fabulous fireworks display that signaled the beginning of a new era.

Far away from the jubilant celebrations in Gongmen City, a young peahen and her father were fishing late into the night due to a food shortage in their village. The father had lost much of his train and has numerous scars, each having their own tale to tell. His feathers were old and dirty from a hard days' work. His eyes bore none of the marks of age that covered the rest of his body. They appeared receptive, looking to take in new information as part of a lifelong quest to daughter, although lacking the eye-catching train of her male counterparts, appeared young and full of energy. She had beautiful ruby red eyes, a trait she sometimes resented when it set her apart from everyone else. She hastily pulled the fishing net from the water and onto the boat, although some fish were lost in the process.

"Xin," The father whispered in a kind yet affirmative tone. "You mustn't pull the net with such force. If you do, some of the fish will be thrown out." Xin held her head up high and looked towards the moon. "Father, we've been out here for two hours and have only caught fifteen fish." She edged over to her father and tugged on his wing. "I want to go home and sleep." The father set aside his net and gave Xin a kiss on the forehead. "I promise you that we will go home in ten minutes. You know how important this is to the village, with the bandits coming and all. Just hang in there a little longer, because things will get better."

Xin frowned and folded her wings away from her father. "You've been saying that things will get better for a long time and they haven't. Mom would always tell me when things wouldn't get better." The father looked up and, for a few seconds, his eyes changed. They no longer seemed to want to take in information; they seemed to be trying to keep information out. A long silence fell over the boat as father and daughter continued to fish.

Xin pulled her net up and screamed when a large spear came out of the water. It was caught in the net along with other debris such as swords, wooden planks, and all kinds of strange things. The Father looked up the river and saw a larger cluster of debris, including a very distinct white peacock. The father rowed over to the unconscious fowl. "Xin, get him out of the water." Xin reluctantly pulled the peacock out of the water. "Ick!" Xin said as she shook the soot off of her wings. The father put his head up to the bird's chest, checking for a pulse.

"He's alive. We need to get him back to the house."

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><p><strong>As I said in the description, it's back!<strong>

**I come back after two months and there doesn't really seem to be many new Shen fics! I am dissapoint. Hopefully, this greivous error can be corrected.**

**After reading a certain review from when this story was first posted, I feel that I need to clarify one thing: ****Xin IS NOT Shen's love interest. I personally hate romance-centric stories, so I certainly wouldn't write one(that's not to say romance won't be part of the plot. I don't want to say anything more than that.)**

**I'll gradually re-post the chapters, and chapter 7 should be fit to post by sunday.**

**I never realized how short my chapters were. Then again, I only put in what is essential to the plot.**

**Oh, have some Translations!:**

**Xin-New, modern.**

**Buwei-Bold**

**Hope you enjoyed it both then and now. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Shen was in his room and, as usual, was stirring up trouble. He had just met Master Oogway, and was currently airing his thoughts on the meeting._

_"That turtle was so boring!" The young Shen said to himself. "I hope I never end up like that. Now, where did I put that sulfur?" Shen was experimenting with substances that Gongmen's traders had brought back, including this strange yellow rock they called sulfur. He mixed it with various other rocks and liquids in a pot and waited to see what would happen. He stood on a stool to look into the pot and ran to the wall when he saw the pot's contents begin to bubble. The pot exploded and made a loud bang. Metal and rock was thrown everywhere and Shen was covered with dust. All the glass in the room had been shattered and most of the carpet was ruined. Shen's father, the Soothsayer, and several royal guards burst into the room, expecting an assassin or thief, but they only saw little Shen trying to put out a fire that had started on his train._

"_SHEN!" His father's blue train flared up in anger. "This is the second time this month! Soothsayer, clean him up and have him brought to the throne room immediately!" Shen's father stormed out of the room. He stopped outside and let out a sigh of relief._

_"Thank the heavens, he's alright" The peacock lord then ascended the staircase to his throne room._

_The guards took all of Shen's experiments and his rock collection. "Hey! That's mine!" the young lord protested. The Soothsayer led him out of his room and down the stairs while trying to calm him down. "Shen, your father is only worried for your safety. That's why he took your rocks; he thought they were dangerous."_

_Shen looked like he was about to burst into tears._

"_But what did I do wrong?"_

_The Soothsayer did not have an answer for him._

Shen's eyes snapped open.

"What?"

His eyes rapidly analyzed everything in the room. He was lying on a bed. He was in a rather small room with various paintings and ornaments hanging from the walls. A single door was at the end of a table. What remained of his weapons were in a jumbled mess on the table. Shen tried to move his head but received a splitting headache and rested it once again. His left foot was covered in bandages, rendering it unusable. His left wing was in a makeshift cast and whenever he tried to move it, it burned with intense pain.

"Oh, why do the fates choose to extend my torture? It's as if they are mocking me." Shen looked over at the table and saw his lance was lying in a very dangerous position. If someone were to just knock it out of balance, it would fall to the floor and impale anything below it.

"Soon, I shall be able to rest once more," Shen whispered as he rolled off the bed and onto the floor. He crawled over to the table, positioning himself directly under his lance. "Isn't this what you foretold, Soothsayer? That I would be killed? Well, I hope you're happy." Before Shen could move the lance, the door opened and a Peacock carrying a box of radishes walked in. The Peacock dropped the box and rushed over to Shen, pushing the lance out of his reach.

"You must be careful. With your injured legs, you could have tripped on that lance." Shen let out a sigh of annoyance before turning his attention to his 'rescuer'.

"I demand to know who you are," Shen asked in a haughty tone. "And where I am." The other Peacock smiled and extended his wing out to Shen in an offer of assistance.

"My name is Buwei and you are in my house. May I help you up?" Shen narrowed his eyes and swatted the wing away.

"I do not need any help, certainly not from the likes of you." Buwei backed away to give Shen some room to get up. Shen used his right wing to grasp the table and slowly stood up on his good leg. He looked over at Buwei with a sense of superiority. He attempted to walk forward, but his legs twisted and he fell to the ground. Buwei once again came over to offer his wing, and this time Shen grudgingly accepted.

"What is your name?" Buwei asked Shen. "It's just so I can address you properly."

Shen looked at the ground as they walked through the door and down the stairs.

"My name is Shen."

Buwei led him into a small room with a table and a window. Xin was already sitting at the table.

"Shen, this is my daughter, Xin. Xin, This is Shen."

Shen analyzed the Peahen from crest to toe and saw nothing remarkable, except for her red eyes. He almost got lost in them before her high-pitched voice brought him back to reality.

"Hi, Shen."

Shen paid no attention to her and sat on an uncomfortable wooden chair, careful not to damage his magnificent train. He looked down at his plate and then stared into space.

"Is there something wrong, Shen?" Buwei asked with the utmost concern.

Shen slowly turned to face him with a puzzled look on his face. "There must be more to eat here than radishes."

Buwei looked down and shook his head. "Well, Shen, there usually is. But for the past several months, we have been attacked by bandits."

Shen was investigating his radish and was paying no attention to Buwei, nor did he make any attempt to hide it.

"I see" Shen said in an uncaring tone.

"We've had to make sacrifices in order to survive. In fact, we were fishing for extra food when we found you floating down that river."

After a rather quiet breakfast, Xin rose from her seat. "Dad, can I go to the meeting today?" Buwei shook his head a gestured to the stairs. "No, but you can help Shen back to his room." Xin walked sluggishly over to Shen and helped him up the stairs.

When they arrived at his room, Shen reached over to one of his feather blades. Xin saw what Shen was doing and swatted the knife out of his hand. She looked up at Shen in disbelief.

"What are you doing?" Shen turned to face Xin. His eyes were twitching and his train began to rise. "We pulled you out of that river and you try to kill yourself? What gives?"

"Listen to me, little Peahen," Shen inched closer to her. "The only way I will achieve peace is through death! But you probably wouldn't understand such things, being so young." By the time he had finished, his train had fanned out and his crest was standing straight up. Xin vigorously shook her head.

"I may be young but I do know that this isn't the answer. I don't know what happened to you before you went in that river, but you must have survived for some reason." Xin took a deep breath before continuing. "Everyone has some reason to keep on living. You must have some friends or famil-"

Shen snapped and slammed his wing on the table, causing his weaponry to rattle.

"I have no friends! I have no family! I have never been loved by anyone!" Shen began to tremble and his voice lowered to a whisper.

"Get out."

Xin quickly exited the room and shut the door. Shen limped over to the bed and sat down, pondering what Xin said.

"Perhaps I am still here for a reason. Even if this is just an accident, I can still seek out that old goat and tell her she was wrong." Shen picked up his blade and looked at his reflection; tears were falling from his eyes. Shen quickly wiped them away and regained his composure. He laid down on the bed, thinking about everything that has happened to him over the past three weeks before going to sleep.

Late in the day, Shen was inspecting the damage to his weaponry. Most of his feather blades were either missing or broken. His throwing knives were completely absent, and his lance was split in half, with the blade bent upward. Shen angrily threw one of the knives at the wall.

"How will I be able to defend myself with these?"

"Why don't you worry less about killing and more about living."

Shen whirled around to see Buwei standing in the doorway. He was carrying a pile of robes.

"I went to the tailor today and bought some robes to replace the dirty one you're wearing."

Shen looked down at his robe. It was torn, covered in dirt, and looked like it came from the garbage rather than a fine silk-weaver.

"Shen I need to talk to you about something." Buwei sat down next to him on the bed. Shen inched away from him as he began to talk.

"I just want to tell you that I know who you are." Shen's eyes went wide with surprise. He quickly got off the bed and readied himself for a fight.

"Shen, I don't want to fight you." Shen relaxed himself, but he still remained in an aggressive stance. Shen was always used to having enemies; for someone to not have any desire to attack him caught him off guard.

"Well, what do you want?" Shen was getting impatient with Buwei. There was something about him that Shen found unnerving.

"Shen, I wanted to tell you that I forgive you."

"You can't unders-wait, what?" Shen had already prepared a response to what he thought would be a lecture on morality and was caught completely off guard. Buwei chuckled and nodded his head slowly.

"You heard me right, Shen. I forgive you." Shen turned away from him to continue inspecting his weapons in a hurried fashion.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. You are no different."

Shen continued to inspect his weapons, even though he had inspected all of them two times already.

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><p><strong>I don't believe I am missing any translations with this one.<strong>

**Geez, this is really short! Never realized...**

**Hope you enjoyed it-bla-bla-bla. Review my story-bla-bla-bla.**


	3. Chapter 3

After two weeks of rest, Shen was finally well enough to move around on his own. He dressed himself in the robes that Buwei had given him a few days ago and examined himself with a mirror. He was displeased by what he saw.

"This robe does not match my feathers at all." Shen looked over at the remains of his old robe and shuddered at the thought of wearing it in public. "Although, it is a significant improvement over _that_."

Shen walked down the spiral staircase and into the living area. He was going to walk right out the front door when something in a side room caught his eye. He turned from the door and crept into the room. There were various paintings hanging from the wall, most of them of mountains and rocks. Other than the paintings, the room was rather unremarkable; it had one bed, a cabinet full of robes, and a small desk. After scanning the room, Shen turned his attention to what caught his eye in the first place-a small, yellow rock sitting on the desk. He immediately recognized it as sulfur. Shen grabbed the rock and weighed it in his wing.

"Oh, Sulfur," Shen mused, his beak curling into an unnaturally wide smile. "You are one of the only things in my life that has consistently brought me joy." He would have gotten lost in his memories if it hadn't been for a certain, high-pitched peahen.

"Shen! What are you doing in my room?" Xin was hopping up and down in the doorframe, clearly frustrated.

Shen laughed and set the rock down on the cabinet. "Calm yourself, little peahen. I was just looking around."

Xin folded her wings and frowned. "In my room?"

"Is there a sign on the door that says 'Peahen's Room'?" Shen smirked while Xin stood there, unable to give a satisfactory response. "I didn't think so."

Shen left Xin's room and sat down in the living area, carelessly tossing scrolls onto the floor after speed-reading them.

Silence hung over the room for a good five minutes before Xin spoke up. "Since you are well enough to walk by yourself, my Father thought I should show you around the village."

Shen looked at his robe in disgust and quickly made a decision.

"I will come with you. I must acquire a new robe, anyway." Shen rose from his seat and followed Xin to the front door.

"What's wrong with the one you're wearing? The green coloring is beautiful."

Shen looked down his beak at her "Someone such as myself should not be seen with such…average clothing," he sniffed.

Xin looked up at him and smiled. "At least you're not dead."

"Point not taken."

Shen was shocked at just how disorderly the village was; there were no roads, and houses and shops seemed to be built wherever their owners wanted them. "This certainly isn't Gongmen…" Shen muttered to himself.

Xin pointed away from the village towards two tall mountains. "That mountain on the left is Iron Mountain; the one on the right is Phoenix Mountain. We choose to call ourselves the People of Phoenix Mountain." Shen could not care less about the mountains, or the people that lived in their shadow. This was only a temporary stop on the path he was traveling on, although he didn't quite know where it would end.

"Now as I was saying earlier, my father forbid me from going to see Bei at all. What was the big deal? We weren't doing anything unacceptable. He's a wolf anyway, so…"

Xin continued to talk about how much her father had wronged her, and Shen hated every second of it. Thus far, Shen had shown an incredible amount of self-control, but at this point he just couldn't take it anymore.

"ENOUGH!"

He whirled around and fanned out his train, causing Xin to stumble backwards and onto the grass. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see this spectacle taking place in the center of their village. Shen bent down and whispered into Xin's ear.

"You know nothing about pain or suffering. You say your father doesn't 'understand' you? Well, at least your father loves you." Shen looked around him and saw a large segment of the village was watching him. "And all of you! I've been told this village has a food shortage. Maybe it would be best if you were tending to that rather than gawking at me!" The onlookers gradually dispersed, whispering to one another.

Xin was stunned by what just happened. When this had happened the first time, she had thought Shen was simply an irritable peacock_. _Now she wondered if it might be something else. Xin stood up, dusted herself off and walked over to the agitated peacock. Shen's eyes looked empty, as if he wasn't even there...

_Shen was pacing back and forth in his father's throne room. His mother was arguing with Master Thundering Rhino about something. After several minutes, Master Rhino bowed his head and left the room. "Now what did you want to talk about, dear?" Shen's mother sat down and put her wing around him._

_"You're going to be here later, won't you?" Shen asked in a nervous tone. His parents were always doing something and he felt they never spent any time with him._

_Shen's mother gently stroked his juvenile crest to soothe him. "Shen, this is the most important day of the year. While I do have some stately things to do today, I promise you, I will be there." His mother lifted him off the floor and nuzzled his beak. "I love you," she whispered into his ear._

"_Happy twelfth birthday, Prince Shen."_

_Shen was sitting at the end of a long, empty table. The only person who actually came to his birthday was his friend Bendan, a wolf he had met several years ago during a trip to one of the poorer sections of Gongmen. Shen's mother was supposed to be there an hour ago. Shen left his 'party' early and went to bed, feeling betrayed._

_In the morning, however, his mood perked up again. Master Rhino had made a reversal on his original decision; He offered to teach the young prince Kung Fu..._

"Shen?"

Shen snapped out of his vision to see Xin looking up at him with concern. "Are you feeling well?"

Shen shivered to wake his body out of the trance. "Well…uh…No. I am not feeling well at all. I…think I'll go back to your father's house."

Xin followed him as he walked back to the house. "I'll come with you," she said with a bright smile.

Shen turned to face Xin. His beak was making strange movements, and his eyes seemed to be darting all over the place. Finally, in the quietest voice, he spoke.

"_Thank you."_

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><p><strong>I'm a little iffy on Shen's thank you. Don't be surprised if it randomly disappears.<strong>

**Translations!**

**Bendan-Fool, idiot**

**Bei-rebellious**

**(To my understanding, at least.)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Shen, I would appreciate it if you would move your weapons off the table."

Buwei, Xin, and Shen were sitting down at the breakfast table. Shen had moved his weapons downstairs the previous night. In his weakened condition, it had taken him an hour to move all of the weapons. He had spent much of his energy yesterday, and he was unable to regain it due to lack of sleep. His crest was disorderly, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"I am planning on taking them over to the local blacksmith," Shen said as he turned his beak upwards. "Assuming you have one." /Buwei looked out the window towards the village and nodded his head.

"Yes, we do have one. His name is Wai. He's a wolf who came here a few years ago. Although if you do meet him, don't expect him to repair your weaponry."

Shen turned to Buwei with his beak hanging open.

"And why would he refuse me? Is it a monetary issue? If so, I can give him an offer he just can't refuse…"

He tried to fan up his train, but it only vibrated and lifted a few inches off the ground. Shen stared at it for a good minute before speaking again.

"That is disgraceful." He turned to his left and saw Xin laughing. "What do you find so funny, little peahen?" Shen stood up and arranged his crest so it looked as neat as possible. When he left it alone, it fell over the right side of his face again.

Xin stopped laughing and took a deep breath.

"I've never seen a peacock who was unable to fan out his train. It just looks funny, especially with your head feathers falling over."

Shen's eyebrows became stiff, and his pupils shrunk. "I will teach you some proper manners!"

He walked towards Xin, but he seemed to get caught on something and fell. Xin started laughing uncontrollably and also fell to the floor. Shen looked back at his feet and let his head hit the floor when he saw the problem. The metal coverings on his feet had gotten caught on a small hole in the floor, causing him to fall.

Shen slowly lifted himself up and sat back in his chair. All of a sudden, Shen's train fanned out again and he slammed his wing on the table.

"This is unbelievable! Look at the floor! It's full of holes! It's a wonder that I didn't fall before! You should-" Shen opened his beak to continue but he stopped himself and began to inspect his metal talons.

Buwei looked over at Xin and shook his head. "Xin, go to your room."

Xin immediately stopped laughing and poked her head up over the edge of the table. "What?"

Buwei repeated his command in a more authoritarian tone. "You heard me. Go to your room."

Xin got up and pointed at Shen. "But he-"

"Now."

Xin raised her wing, but quickly brought into down again and left the room.

Buwei sighed."She has so much to learn…now Shen, what were you saying before?"

Shen stood up and looked himself over. "I'm pathetic! I have no power! Even little children laugh at me! Look at this!"

Buwei looked at him with confusion. "Shen, you just gestured to your entire body."

Shen turned and looked outside the window. "Shen, you're just very tired. You should go rest for a bit more and then go see Wai."

Shen nodded his head in agreement and began to trudge up the stairs.

Buwei ran up behind him and grabbed his wing. "Wait!" he said."I need to ask you something."

Shen pulled his wing back and kept it close to his chest. "First of all, don't _ever _touch me." He straightened his robe. "Now, what was your question?"

Buwei clasped his wings together.

"Would you please move your weapons off the table?"

Shen walked out the front door feeling refreshed. He had taken Buwei's suggestion and slept for a few more hours and was carrying his broken lance to Wai, the Blacksmith, to have it repaired. It was drizzling outside, although Buwei said it would rain harder later. Shen walked into the village and towards Wai's house. The villagers stared at him as he walked by. They had never seen a white peafowl before, and were wanting to good look at him. Several of them tried to approach Shen, but he pulled out his crooked lance in a threatening manner and they backed away. Shen smirked and entered Wai's house.

"Who's there?" a gruff voice asked from the back of the room. Most of the lanterns were not lit but the furnace was, providing some illumination. It was a utilitarian home, without many paintings or decorations. A wolf emerged from the darkness and lit some of the lanterns. "I said, who's there?"

Shen quickly looked around before pointing to himself. "Oh, you were talking to me? My apologies, for I am from elsewhere." He casually walked over to a desk near the furnace and swept some of the metal off of it. "Oh, I am so sorry. I forgot to mention, I am rather clumsy."

Wai sighed and pointed to the door. "What part of 'closed' don't you understand?"

Shen looked back at the Wai and his eyes widened. "Closed? Why would you be closed? In such beautiful weather?" It began to rain harder, and distant thunder could be heard. /Wai started putting swords onto racks hanging on the wall. "Well, I've been running out of metal recently." He paused for a second before continuing. "And my son has been missing so…"

Shen's beak twisted into a wide smile. "Is he now?"

Wai nodded slowly. "He went with some friends to the forest at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. They came back without him. They insisted he wandered off, but I know it's easy to find your way back, so I am worried something happened to him." He sat down in a chair and stared out the window.

Shen took out his lance and slammed it on the table with a loud _clang!_ "I just might be able to find your son for you—"

"Oh, thank you!" Wai got out of his chair and reached out to shake Shen's wing. "If you find him, I will be forever in your debt!"

Shen pulled his wing away and raised his beak. "I do not want your eternal gratitude. I simply want this to be returned to working condition."

Wai inspected the bent lance for a moment and nodded his head. "I can fix it."

The peacock turned to leave before he heard a loud clattering noise behind him. He looked down and saw a sword lying at his feet.

"You may need it. I wish you the best of luck." Wai bowed to Shen and continued to clean up his workshop.

Shen picked up the sword and left the building. "First, I must return to Buwei to get a map, or some form of compass. Then, I will find this 'boy'—probably gnawing on some bone at the foot of a tree." He held his new sword up to the sky. "And with this fine-crafted blade, nothing shall stop me!" Suddenly, Shen fell to the ground and dropped his sword in the mud.

His metal talons had gotten caught on a tree root.

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><p><strong>Wai-Outsider<strong>

**I cannot believe how lucky I am to have made back-ups of this story. Without them, well...**

**Hope you enjoyed it.**


	5. Chapter 5

Shen trudged across the forest floor, map in hand. This environment was alien to him; he was used to the rolling hills outside Gongmen, not a complicated labyrinth of trees and rocks. Shen drew his sword and sliced a branch off of a tree. "I passed this tree over an hour ago!" His wings fell to his sides. Shen looked at the map once more before crumbling it up. "Well, that proved to be absolutely useless." He pulled his sword out of the tree and began to walk.

Suddenly, Shen staggered and dropped his sword. He wrapped his wings around his midsection and gritted his beak.

"Maybe I should have taken that wilderness survival course when I was a chick. Then I would be able to eat berries without worry of poisoning myself!" Shen began to have a coughing fit as he reoriented himself. He crawled over to his sword and used it as a crutch to stand up. Shen dusted himself off and held his head high.

"Now then, off to find this idiotic wo-"

He turned around and was met with a surprising sight.

"_Panda!"_

A panda was standing atop a small hill next to some bushes. His arms were at his sides and his eyes were fixated on Shen. Shen drew his sword and slowly approached him, weaving left and right to avert the panda's gaze. "We meet again, panda." He paused for several seconds before continuing. "I see that you have no desire to make a fool out of yourself this time, which is good. Now, why have you come here?"

The panda continued to stare at him. He didn't even seem to be breathing. Shen thrust his sword within an inch of the panda's face. "I see. You must be attempting to retain peace." He took a deep breath before continuing. Shen began to circle around the panda.

"Don't you hate me? Doesn't my mere presence make your heart race? If it doesn't, then I believe you have a problem. I did kill your parents, after all." He started laughing but the panda stuck his foot out and tripped Shen, causing him to roll down the hill. Shen quickly recovered and charged the panda, sword raised high in the air.

"You are a fool!" He swung the sword with all his might at the panda's neck. The head went flying into a tree, but there was no blood. There were only leaves. Shen thrust his sword into the panda's arm and pulled it out. A small cluster of leaves fell from the wound. "What?" Shen threw his sword to the ground. The panda morphed into a cluster of bushes right before his eyes. "I must be going mad!" Shen fell to the ground as he tried to pick up his sword. Exhausted, he went right to sleep.

"_Not it!"_

_Shen's relatives had come over to visit, as they did every two years. The children were playing a hybrid of tag and hide and seek in the garden behind the Tower of Sacred Flame. As always, Shen was the last person to say "not it."_

_"Guys, Come on! I'm always it!"_

_Lu, his oldest cousin, fanned out his train and went right up to Shen's beak. "Shen, you always have been the first peachick it. This is no different. Now count to 60 and don't take forever to find us this time."_

_The peachicks scattered throughout the garden, finding the strangest hiding places imaginable. One was even hiding in a hollowed out section of the wall, normally reserved for archers and ALWAYS off limits._

_After counting to 60, Shen dragged his talons down a pathway. "I hate this game," Shen said to himself. "Why can't someone else be it for once?" He reached an intersection and saw Lu out of his hiding spot talking to a peahen. He slowly crept towards Lu to tag him._

"_Wow. You did that all by yourself, and you're only sixteen?" The peahen looked at Lu in amazement._

_"That's right. Of course, saving an entire village from 500 bandits does take a lot of energy out of me, so I do need to relax once in while, but I must always be ready when danger strikes—" He opened his beak to say more but he felt something tugging on his robe. Lu looked down and saw Shen trying to get his attention. "What?" he snarled._

"_You're it."_

_Lu spun his train and hit Shen, sending him straight into a puddle of mud. Shen received several bruises and spit some mud out of his mouth. When he looked up, Lu was laughing at him._

_"Shen! You are absolutely pathetic! Every time I do something to you, you always tell me 'I'll get you' or 'you'll pay'. Well, come on! Here's your chance, do something!"_

_Shen raised his wing to make a point, but he let it fall and started crying. The peahen Lu was talking to walked away._

_"Hey, wait!" Lu chased after the Peahen. "What's your address?"_

_Shen's other cousins left their hiding spots to see what all the commotion was about. None of them made any attempt to help Shen up and headed to the tower after about two minutes of silence._

"_Shen, are you okay?"_

_Shen looked up and saw Ebaru, his cousin from a faraway place called Babylon. He wiped the tears away from his eyes. "N-n-n-o. I'm n-n-o-t-t ok-a-ay."_

_"Lu is such a jerk." She held out her wing to him. "Let's go inside and you can clean yourself up."_

_Shen used her wing to pull himself out of the mud. When he got out, however, he would not let go._

_"Uh, Shen. Could you not hold my hand so tight?" /Shen quickly pulled his wing back. His face took on a red shade. "Oh, sorry!"_

_Ebaru turned to him and screamed. "HELP!"_

_Young Shen changed into the present-day Shen, who looked mystified. "I don't remember this."_

"_HELP!"_

Shen shot up out of his sleep and felt the ground around him.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Shen looked around. He could tell that the screaming was very close, so he followed the sound. "Whoever you are, continue to scream!" Shen eventually came to a large tree. A wolf cub was tied to the tree. His clothes were torn up, and he smelled like he hadn't taken a bath in days.

Shen raised his sword over the wolf. The wolf began to panic and flail his feet. "No, don't!"

He used the sword to cut the ropes. The wolf let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, mister!" the wolf started to walk towards him.

Shen jumped away and kept his sword drawn in a threatening manner. "Don't come any closer! Now, what is your name?"

The wolf looked confused. "Wait, aren't you resc—_"_

"YOUR NAME!" Shen's train fanned out in anger.

The wolf started shaking. "M-my name i-is B-b-ben"

Shen smiled and lowered his sword. "That wasn't too difficult now was it? Let's get moving." Shen started walking but Ben wasn't following him. He was looking at some flowers and sniffing them.

"ARE YOU GOING TO FOLLOW ME, OR DO I HAVE TO DRAG YOU ACROSS THE GROUND?"

Ben quickly dropped his flower and followed him. "You don't have to be so pushy, you know."

Shen turned to him with the intent of scolding him but he decided against it. "How exactly did you get strapped to that tree?"

Ben put his paws in his pockets. "I was playing with some friends and they said we were going to play a game. They said part of the game was that I was the prisoner, and they would come rescue me. They didn't come back to get me." He looked up at Shen with embarrassment. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Shen laughed and looked down at him. "Ben, I don't care enough to go tell your other friends that you did something stupid."

Ben jumped in front of him and bowed. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"You're welcome." Shen paused for a few seconds before snapping out of thought and continuing on the journey home. Ben tugged on his robe. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Shen looked down at his talons. He reached into his robe but quickly pulled it out again. "No, I d—"

"Never mind. I found some berries."

Shen raised his wing, his eyes wide with surprise. "Aren't those—"

Ben turned around. He was stuffing his mouth with berries.

"What?"

Shen lowered his wing. "Never mind, just hurry up."

* * *

><p><strong>Lu-Donkey<strong>

**Ben-Foolish**

**Ebaru-Across**

**Obviously, Ebaru is not chinese; it's Akkadian.**

**Not much to say here. I would expect Shen to have many relatives, and not all of them would be from China.**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	6. Chapter 6

"_Two weeks?"_

Shen kicked Wai's desk in frustration. "I brought back your son and now you tell me the repairs will take two weeks?"

Wai shrugged as he pulled Shen's lance off of a rack in the back of the room. "I'm sorry Shen, but there are other projects I must attend to. Tools break all the time, and I need to fix them. Weapons are the last things on my to-do list."

Shen tried to lower his talon, but it hooked onto a leg of the desk. He tried to pull it off with his wing to no avail. Wai looked over at the desk and cocked his head. "Why do you wear those?" Shen's talon finally separated from the desk, which sent him tumbling backwards.

"That," he said as he re-arranged his crest, "is none of your concern."

Wai brought Shen's lance over and laid it on a nearby table. "Come here, Shen." Shen twisted his head around and saw that his train was covered in dirt. He gasped and tried to tuck as much of it into his robe as possible before arriving at the table. "Now Shen," Wai said as he gestured to the bent spearhead. "I am going to have to build an entirely new spearhead. There are several des—"

"Unacceptable."

Wai's eyes widened with disbelief. "Shen, it just can't be done in two weeks! I would need at least three weeks to repair this alone, not even counting your other weapons."

Shen snaked around the table with lightning speed. Wai backed away several steps, unsure as to what the white peacock was doing.

Shen rushed up to Wai and whispered in his ear "How many of your fellow villagers offered to find your son?"

Wai looked down and took a deep breath. "None."

Shen looked out the window and slowly shook his head. "It sickens me, Wai, it truly does. That they are too busy going about their day-to-day lives to help find your son just pierces what's left of my heart."

Wai raised his hand. "Now just wait one minute. I have lived in this village my entire life, and I have never been wronged by anyone here."

Shen started laughing and closed the window. "Sometimes I feel as though you commoners don't understand subtlety. You may feel as though you haven't been wronged, but in reality you are being played for a fool." He picked up one of his throwing knives and threw it at the wall, cutting a string that was holding a painting on the wall. "Hmm. Superb shot, if I do say so myself."

Wai pulled the knife out of the wall and put it back on the table. "Shen, how am I being fooled?"

Shen smiled and put his wings together. "They are parasites, Wai."

Wai scratched his head. "What's a parasite?"

Shen looked down and sighed. "A parasite is a creature that feeds off of someone, takes advantage of them," He grabbed another knife and threw it. "And they do nothing in return. These villagers want to keep you alive for as long as possible, as they feed off of you." Shen drew his sword and thrust it into the table. "And these are the ones you are putting ahead of me? I saved your son, not them!"

Wai leaned against the wall and sighed. "Shen, I just . . . I just don't know. I gotta think about."

Shen's pleasant expression quickly changed to an angry scowl. "I can see that this rather simple problem will time take for you to solve. I will leave you to your pondering; come to me when you reach a decision." He pulled his sword out of the table. "Let us hope it is the right one."

Shen stomped out the door and into the center of the village. "There is a reason why wolves do not rule China," he muttered to himself. Shen started to walk towards Buwei's house but he stopped and looked over at a nearby shop. Inside was a small counter and display case. The sign was bland and the paint was unremarkable, but something in the shop caught Shen's eye. Hanging in the window was a very well-made white robe. Shen rushed over and felt the silk with his wings. He looked around before slowly pulling the robe off its hanger.

"Can I help you?"

Shen jumped and quickly put the robe back on its hanger. "It was falling!" he said. He looked to his left and saw a sheep. "Is this your shop?"

The sheep nodded her head. Shen relaxed himself and finished arranging the robe. "I was wondering if this was for sale."

The sheep pulled the robe off the hanger and examined it. "Yes, it is. It costs forty Yuan." Shen's beak hung open in shock. "F-f-f-forty Yuan? That's ridiculous!"

The sheep shrugged and put the robe back on the hanger. "You have to understand; that robe is made wi—"

"With the finest silk in all the land?"

"Yes."

Shen clasped his wings together and looked at the village. "I was simply surprised at the price of the robe." He reached inside his robe, pulled out five coins, and placed them on a nearby table. "Consider this an investment. I must return to my house and collect the remaining funds."

The sheep took the coins and placed them in a small box sitting on a desk. "I will hold the robe until you get back."

Shen walked out into the village and stood next to a small building. He peered around the corner and saw a rabbit coming. Shen pulled his head back and extended his metal talons. When the rabbit turned the corner, he quickly stuck out his talon and tripped him.

Shen rushed over to the rabbit and held his wing out. "Oh my! I am sooo sorry! Let me help you up."

The rabbit grabbed the wing and Shen pulled him up. He quickly dusted the rabbit off. "Uh…thanks?" the rabbit said.

Shen laughed and put on a cheery smile. "Oh, think nothing of it! I'm only trying to help." The rabbit stared at Shen for a minute before moving on. Shen moved into the shadow of the building and counted the coins he now held in his wing. "Perfect!" He put the coins in his robe and headed back towards the clothing shop.

Shen walked out of the shop with a devious smile. "I could have stolen one of these buildings and they wouldn't have noticed, unaware fools."

He traveled through the market area and towards the river. He almost made it to Buwei's house when he heard someone yelling. Shen turned to his left and started shaking. He saw his cousin Lu shoving a white peacock into the mud and this time he was determined to take action.

Shen drew his sword and ran towards him. He jumped over the white peacock and thrust the sword within an inch of Lu's face. "Listen to me you fool," Shen hissed. "If you ever try to harm me again, I will cut off your legs and dump you in the Babylonian desert where the vultures will feast upon your still beating heart. Is that clear?"

Lu stood there for several seconds before splitting in half to form two small pigs, who ran away crying. Shen looked around in disbelief. "But I…he was right here…"

He turned around to face his young self, but instead he saw Xin. "Thanks, Shen," she said.

Shen let his wings hang down. "Little peahen, why are you covered in mud?"

Xin started wiping the mud off of her robe. "Those kids like to bully me all the time! My dad always says to ignore them, but it doesn't work!"

Shen put his sword back into his robe. "Well, it sounds like your father is—"

"Please don't tell me you agree with him," Xin interrupted.

"I was going to say your father is a fool." Shen looked towards the mountain. The sun was disappearing behind it. "It is getting late, so I must return to your—"

Shen stopped abruptly and looked down at his robe. It was getting covered in mud from Xin shaking the mud off her wings. He looked at Xin with a blank expression. He looked at his robe again and started wobbling. "That…c-c-cost…f-f-f-forty…Yuan…oh my." Shen started to lose his balance and he fell to the ground. Xin looked for anyone who may have seen Shen fall. She started to drag him back to the house.

"Dad is going to kill me."

* * *

><p><strong>Insert babbling author's note here<strong>

**Those berries must've really done a number on Shen. That's why you don't pick random berries when in a forest. **

**Remember, only YOU can prevent hallucinations.**

**I hope to have chapter 7 done by sunday. It'll probably be the longest, most dialogue-filled chapter yet. I'm exited!**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


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